Hyped Mobile Start-Up Color Denies Shutting Down

“Color is not shutting down,” a company spokesman told VentureWire, adding that the photo-sharing-network-turned-streaming-video-channel is investigating the source of anemail reported this morning in VentureBeat, that stated the board and major shareholders voted to “wind down” the company.

“The partnership with Verizon is very strong and they have interesting product ideas,” he said, referring to a deal struck in May to pre-install the company’s app on some of Verizon’s Android smartphones.

While start-ups are born and die inauspiciously every day–mortality is somewhere around 80% according to some industry estimates–Color has been high profile and high flying since it was first conceived.

Despite the gush of funding–most start-ups in the category raise a $1 million seed round and then raise another $5 million or so if the app is successful–the Palo Alto, Calif.-based start-up never gained significant traction with its initial group mobile photo app. Pham left the company three months after launch and Chief Product Officer DJ Patil headed for the door the following month.

The company pivoted, built a new app allowing users to record and post 30-second silent videos to their Facebook pages, and struck the Verizon deal in May.

It’s unclear what new products, if any, could emerge from Color, but having raised such a massive round and employing well under 70, it’s likely the company has plenty of cash left.

Either way, the company isn’t saying much.

Color Vice President John Kuch, who handled marketing and communications for the company and populated his Facebook page with Color streams, couldn’t be reached for comment.

Although his LinkedIn profile still states he’s active with Color, the company spokesman said Kuch “has moved on.”

Kuch began using Cinemagram–an app that allows you to animate still photos–last month right after he stopped posting Color broadcasts, according to his Facebook timeline.